Thanks JGmf for the great review. My wife and I were on the same cruise and your review could have almost been our review. We are also in our 50s, in a full suite, arrived at the same time, and also had to get off for a 10:45 flight (to Orlando on our way to Milwaukee.) Hmmm. Did I write a review already and forget??? We were on the same ship and in the same cabin as 2 years ago with a half full ship when things opened up.
We also had a great cruise. A few additional raves and pans…..
I thought the embarkation experience was not as great. The separation of green and blue lines seemed almost worthless to us as the lines merged together prior to check in. (As green, the line was shorter before the merge. ). It all went pretty quick, but we initially were sent to the elite lounge as we were full suite only to be redirected back to the regular area. Very confusing, but I suspect that the other area was full as there were A LOT of Elite level cruisers. Demographics: As said earlier, we are in our mid-50s, and I estimate in the lower 20% age wise.
We loved the food and service in Reserve MDR, Crown Grill, and The Catch. This is saying something as I am comparing it to the Retreat dining experience on Celebrity which is amazing. Suite breakfast was great, buffet was so so, pool deck food was great. I thought 360 experience was great but once is enough. (My wife is not as adventurous am eater so did not care for some of the items.)
Production shows were the same as last cruise so did not go again. (Loved Rock Opera, really don’t like 5 Skies-sorry. ) Rest of entertainment was just OK, not great in my opinion. (I agree that Duvaul and his staff were very good.)
I could not agree more on the casino. At night, it was overly crowded and so smoky that it was often unbearable. (In one of the shows, one other cruiser let my wife overhear a snide remark about how bad she smelled of smoke - and we only walked through the casino.). We can’t stand the smoky conditions and wish Princess would make smoke free or ventilate better. (Let the flame throwers begin. 😄)
We had been to all of the island before, but still enjoyed them. High point was Dominica where we went on a whale watching trip and saw multiple whales and hundreds of dolphins. Low point was a Martinique snorkel trip that missed a stop due to wind and the stop we did had a lot of jellyfish. (Both had minor stings. ) Coordination of the excursions was great.
OK- those are my items to share. Again, great cruise and thank for letting me ride in the coat tails of your review. )